How many of us wished we could be Ricky Walker when the winner of the Ralston Rocket was announced? Looking back at the newsreel footage of a more innocent age, it seems strange to see the reaction of some of the people to the rocket giveaway. One can image what Ricky's father must of thought when he saw the hugh truck pull into town that cold day in January. Years later when Ricky was approached for an interview about the Rocket he declined, showing little or no interest in the childhood event. Where is the rocket now? How was it used after the giveaway? Good questions that are being explored by many of us. However, let's start with the newsreel and see if we can relive the event with a backward glance from today's persecutive. Fellow cadets Bob Ekman and Chris Rasmussen have begun work on restoring some shots of the event from a 16 mm newsreel film of the giveaway. A lot of effort and time is going into the project. The capture of the frames is only the beginning. The pictures have heavy scratches,dirt marks and emulsion scratches that must be removed. It is a slow process but the results will help us look into past and get a better perspective of the event.
Others have submitted pictures that will be included as well as some research done at the Academy. If you have any photo's from the Newsreel or pictures of the Ralston Rocket you would like to see posted, contact the Academy and lets share some of the memories with other cadets.
RALSTON NEWSREEL
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